leave the world cheerless, and to her he owes any thoughts of good or
beauty that he may have. It is only because he loves her that he can
sing. Hence he would rather suffer any pain or punishment at her hands
than receive the highest favours from another. The effects of this love
are obvious in his person. His voice quavers with supreme delight or [18]
breaks in dark despair; he sighs and weeps and wakes at night to think
of the one subject of contemplation. Waves of heat and cold pass over
him, and even when he prays, her image is before his eyes. This passion
has transformed his nature: he is a better and stronger man than ever
before, ready to forgive his enemies and to undergo any physical
privations; winter is to him as the cheerful spring, ice and snow as
soft lawns and flowery meads. Yet, if unrequited, his passion may
destroy him; he loses his self-control, does not hear when he is
addressed, cannot eat or sleep, grows thin and feeble, and is sinking
slowly to an early tomb. Even so, he does not regret his love, though it
lead to suffering and death; his passion grows ever stronger, for it is
ever supported by hope. But if his hopes are realised, he will owe
everything to the gracious favour of his lady, for his own merits can
avail nothing. Sometimes he is not prepared for such complete
self-renunciation; he reproaches his lady for her coldness, complains
that she has led him on by a show of kindness, has deceived him and will
be the cause of his death; or his patience is at an end, he will live in
spite of her and try his fortune elsewhere.[8]

Such, in very general terms, is the course that might be followed in
developing a well-worn theme, on which many variations are possible. The [19]
most common form of introduction is a reference to the spring or winter,
and to the influence of the seasons upon the poet's frame of mind or the
desire of the lady or of his patron for a song. In song the poet seeks
consolation for his miseries or hopes to increase the renown of his